Calorie Free Work: Diet Guidelines for Office Workers

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

In pursuit of a career, it is easy to forget about proper nutrition, gain extra pounds and lose your former lightness. Lifehacker publishes some useful insights from Work Without Extra Calories for those who want to stay slim despite sedentary work.

Ken Loyd UCLA Ph. D., management consultant, psychologist.

The workflow has changed a lot in recent years. We will not dwell on the positive changes. Another thing is important: representatives of many professions began to get fat.

And the point here is not that being fat is ugly, but being thin is good. Let's forget about body positivity for a minute. Extra pounds in the future threaten the development of cardiovascular diseases, depression, diabetes, cancer.

How can this risk be avoided? In short, you need to move more throughout the day and monitor what you eat. Let us dwell on the latter in more detail. Here are some guidelines to help you avoid gaining weight.

Correct breakfast

Rule # 1. Don't skip breakfast

Often, there is simply not enough time for the first meal. Because of this, the strongest feeling of hunger does not let go all day. Office workers deal with it in the standard way - unhealthy snacks made from buns and chocolates. Do not do like this. Seems like you're running out of time? Get up 15 minutes early.

A healthy breakfast will give you much more energy for your workday than the last seconds of a pseudo sleep. "Work without extra calories"

Rule # 2. Avoid high-calorie foods

You have probably heard the well-known myth that you can eat anything and in any quantity for breakfast - the body works well in the morning, it will digest. But no. Even the first meal will not do you good if it consists of high-calorie foods high in sugars, fats and carbohydrates.

By filling your morning with donuts, bagels, iced and cinnamon rolls, you set the stage for heart disease, liver problems, diabetes and, of course, obesity. "Work without extra calories"

Rule # 3: Be Careful When Eating Breakfast Outside the Home

Concerns those who do not want to cook in the morning, so on the way runs into a coffee shop or buys fast food. Flavored coffee and cinnamon roll are 700 calories and 15 grams of fat. Remember that you need 2,000 calories a day on average. You will gain almost a third of the daily allowance with such a hearty breakfast.

If you go to a cafe in the morning, get ready in advance: look at the menu and the calorie content of your favorite dishes. Order those that will not affect your figure and at the same time will satisfy.

Rule # 4: Eat a Balanced Eat

There is no single correct breakfast recipe. A healthy breakfast can be different every day. But try to include protein, fiber and vitamins in it so that you can forget about the feeling of hunger until lunch. Here are some possible options:

• Eggs. Rich in protein, satiating, helping to maintain weight.
• Cereals. Fast and light breakfast. Choose cereals that are not high in sugar and keep track of the serving size (for example, use a measuring cup).
• Porridge. Good for the heart. Contains soluble fiber to lower cholesterol levels. For example, the popular oatmeal can help control appetite and increase satiety, among other things.
• Yogurt. Option for those who do not have enough time. Choose low-fat yoghurts or Greek yoghurt, which has twice as much protein as regular yoghurt.
• Cottage cheese. A source of calcium and protein.
• Smoothie. A healthy substitute for sugary drinks. Smoothies can include fresh and frozen fruits, vegetables, tofu, nuts, almond and soy milk.
• Water. The drink of champions.
• Tea. Better for health, especially for the heart, than coffee. Reduces the risk of hypertension.

The right lunch

Rule # 1. Don't go for business lunches in cafes

The statistics are relentless. Scientists have found that those who go to lunch in cafes and restaurants consume about 158 kcal over the norm. If you recalculate these small numbers on the scale of the year, then with such meals you will gain 5 kilograms a year. Either keep a close eye on how much you eat, or forget about business lunches.

Rule # 2. Eat slowly

When you rush into food, your brain doesn't have time to receive a signal from your digestive system that you are full. This means that at a fast pace you will eat much more than you actually need.

Rule # 3. Don't eat lunch at your workplace

When you eat and at the same time do small chores of work, you absorb food very absent-mindedly. Such distracted eating leads to weight gain.

When you focus on sending emails, analyzing information, and writing reports, it can be difficult to keep track of how much you ate. As a result, you overeat more often. "Work without extra calories"

Plus, having lunch at the workplace is an unhygienic habit. The authors cite an interesting statistic from the University of Arizona: there are about 400 times more bacteria on the desktop than in the average toilet.

Rule # 4. Take your lunch with you

To eat well, a healthy lunch should be in your bag. This is a profitable activity in several ways: you can control the composition of the meal, the portion size and its price.

Keep in mind that food for lunch should be selected so that they do not go bad in a couple of hours outside the refrigerator. Here are some options:

• Lean meat. Skinless chicken fillet, turkey or salmon meat. Sources of protein and fiber.
• Vegetables and fruits. Healthy, nutritious and calorie-free.
• Healthy sandwiches. Swap high-calorie buns for pita bread, fill with lean tuna or chicken, and add more fresh vegetables and hummus as a dressing.
• Water. For a change, you can add a little lemon juice, a slice of cucumber, a sprig of mint, or frozen berries.

The right dinner

Rule # 1. Don't overeat

In the evening, your chances of getting fat don't disappear. Therefore, be sure to control the portion size. To make it easier to take care of yourself, eat from one small plate.

Fruits and vegetables? About the size of a fist. Protein foods? From the palm of your hand. Snacks? How much will fit on two palms folded in a "boat". Foods with a high starch content? How much will fit in one palm. Cheese? A piece the size of your thumb. "Work without extra calories"

Rule # 2. Turn off your TV

Concentration isn't just for work. Use dinner time to leisurely enjoy delicious meals and conversation with your family. Here again, it is important to avoid unconscious food intake: when you are not distracted, you are less prone to overeating.

Rule # 3. Don't drink alcohol

For many people, alcohol becomes a way to relax after a hard day at work. Going to the pub with your coworkers in the evening negatively affects your weight for two reasons. First, alcohol itself is extremely high in calories. Second, cocktails and beer are often paired with unhealthy food.

Treats like cheese and chili fries, chips, and fried cheese sticks make happy hours a miserable hour of regret. "Work without extra calories"

Rule # 4. Get ready for bed

In one of the experiments at the University of Pennsylvania, an unpleasant pattern was discovered: the less you sleep, the more likely you are to be overweight.

This is partly due to the fact that while you are awake, you eat more often. And usually these are foods with a high fat content. The heaviness in the stomach makes it more difficult to fall asleep. Vicious circle.

Certain foods and drinks can help you get a good night's sleep: warm milk, nuts, and whole grains. "Work without extra calories"

And, of course, no caffeinated drinks before bed. Replace your coffee with a glass of fat-free kefir.

Rule # 5: Cook Low-Calorie Meals

A light dinner doesn't have to be tasteless. Diet recipes suitable for dinner, a lot: fish with spinach, chicken with green beans, tofu with vegetables … Pump up your culinary skills.

Stacey Laura Loyd and Ken Loyd have provided helpful advice on every scenario: how to cope with overeating before, during and after work, how to overcome stress without falling into gluttony, how to move more during the day, and find the strength to train in the evening.

Book “Work without extra calories. How not to gain weight in the office”- a detailed plan for dealing with excess weight for those who spend most of their time sitting because of work.